Daily Headlines: June 27, 2014

* Venezuela: A group of university students have sewn their mouths shut as part of a hunger strike since June 20th to protest the detention of over 100 students involved in anti-government protests.

* Cuba: The wife of U.S. contractor Alan Gross claimed that his health is rapidly deteriorating and that he is losing faith of being released from a Cuban prison.

* Ecuador: Ecuador's Constitutional Court has forty-five days to decide how to go forward with a series of reforms that could allow for the indefinite reelection of President Rafael Correa.

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla proposed a plan to restructure about $22 billion in debt owed by public entities on the cash-strapped commonwealth.

Video Source – CCTV America via YouTube

Online Sources – El Universal; CNN; ABC News; The New York Times

Nicaragua: High court OKs Ortega reelection

Latin American leaders across the political spectrum have considered whether to change their respective country’s constitution in order to run for presidential reelection. The Central American country of Nicaragua is no exception as president Daniel Ortega admitted in July that he would back having a constitutional referendum allowing him to run in 2011.

Yesterday the constitutional branch of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court overturned the ban on presidential reelection. The move was backed by pro-government judges and after Ortega and a group of more than 100 mayors petitioned the country’s high court. The verdict still needs to be approved by the entire 16-judge Supreme Court though justice Francisco Rosales said that he expected it to be ratified.

As BBC News notes, reelection backers throughout the region have argued that “continuity over more than four years is needed if effective policies for change are to be enacted.” Conversely, opponents of the reelection move in Nicaragua like the country’s vice president have decried it as a gateway to “dictatorships, tyrannies, confrontation, and civil war.”

In the end it will be up to the Nicaraguan electorate to decide if Ortega will get reelected in two years time. If an April poll is any indication of what could happen in 2011, then Ortega may be on his way out of office.

Image- BBC News (An Ortega poster says “To serve the people is to serve God!”)
Online Sources- Angus Reid Global Monitor, Colombia Reports, Reuters, AFP, AP, BBC News, The Latin Americanist

Ortega's veep opposes reelection in Nicaragua

Jaime Morales, the vice-president of Nicaragua, publicly opposed the slow and steady attempts of President Daniel Ortega to seek the constitutional changes necessary for consecutive reelection. "Re-elections have spawned dictatorships, tyrannies, confrontations and civil war," he told reporters yesterday in Managua.

Morales' remarks on the matter, which he has made to a lesser extent over the past several weeks, represent the highest-level public opposition to Ortega's power moves that many thought would go relatively unimpeded given that Ortega's allies within the Sandinistas and PLC effectively dominate the legislature and judiciary. Remarkably, it comes from within Ortega's own ranks, though Morales is far from an Ortega loyalist.

Morales is a former leader of the PLC which joined ranks with the rival Sandinista party prior to Ortega's victory in 2006 after the "unholy alliance" formed between the two at-odds groups thanks to back-room dealings between Ortega and Former President Aleman. Aleman, who only recently was released from house arrest by Ortega, has suggested that he wil be seeking a return to politics himself. Thus, it may not be terribly surprising to see Morales make these statements so publicly, as a strategic shift in PLC allegiance to Aleman or another PLC candidate (perhaps Morales himself) is already well under way.

It will be interesting to monitor how Morales behaves himself; such comments are not ones made lightly, or only once. It will also be interesting to see how Ortega -- not known for his high tolerance of critics within his circle -- responds to Morales overtures. He is unlikely to heed Morales' suggestions, of course, so look for either Morales to step down sooner than later, or for Ortega to force him to moderate his remarks on the matter.

Sources: El Nuevo Diario, La Prensa, Reuters, Wikipedia

Lula, Uribe, and the reelection conundrum

The topic of reelection has been a topic of concern for several Latin American leaders from Lionel Fernandez to Rafael Correa. The presidents of Brazil and Colombia have recently faced that some issue though their replies have been decidedly different.

Dilma Rousseff- the likely presidential candidate for Brazil’s ruling Worker’s Party- became ill last Monday and was forced to be hospitalized. Though she was discharged the following day, some allies of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva began to ask for him to run for a third term. Lula’s response was curt and to the point:

"I haven't discussed this possibility. Primarily because there is no third term (under Brazil’s constitution). Secondly because Dilma is fine."

In Colombia, meanwhile, the country’s Senate approved a proposal to hold a nationwide referendum designed to allow President Alvaro Uribe to run for a third straight term. A myriad of scandals have dented Uribe’s armor such as the ties between politicos and paramilitaries, corruption in the intelligence community and possible “influence-peddling” by Uribe’s sons. Uribe’s popularity among Colombians remains high (70%) though it has slipped gradually over the past year.

Whereas Lula provided a prompt and direct answer to the question of a possible third term, Uribe has been largely evasive. Last week he admitted that it would be "inappropriate to stay on as president because the country has a lot of good leaders" yet he has not committed to the possibility of running in 2010. Despite numerous figures vying for the presidency and growing criticism from the media and even some of his allies, Uribe continues to hem and haw.

One takes the high road while the other seems to take the low road. The democracies in Brazil and Colombia will be tested by how much power they’re willing to grant their leaders. Lula made the right choice; will Uribe do the same?

Image- LAHT
Online Sources- Too Many to list!

Evo Morales agrees to skip third term

Bolivian president Evo Morales agreed to not run for a third term in a deal made with Congress.

According to Vice President Alvaro Garcia, Morales agreed to run only for a possible second term in scheduled for December 2009. In exchange, Congress agreed to vote on permitting a national constitutional referendum for January.

Garcia’s announcement came during a rally of over 100,000 pro-government supporters in the Bolivian capital of La Paz. The assembly represented the end of a week-long national march by backers of Morales which started in the western highlands. He participated in parts of the march though doctors ordered him to refrain from campaigning.

The deal may unravel depending on the opposition; the majority of Senate seats are controlled by anti-Morales factions, for instance. As the AP noted:

Conservative lawmakers have balked at Morales' argument that the new framework would require immediate nationwide elections — placing his opponents at risk of losing their seats while allowing Morales to start over on two full five-year terms.

The topic of a presidential third-term has been on the minds of several Latin American leaders. Dominican President Leonel Fernandez recently started his third term while Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe is seriously contemplating that option.

Image- CNN (“Supporters of Evo Morales pass through the village of San Antonio, Bolivia, on Sunday en route to La Paz.”)
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Voice of America, Xinhua, AP, Al Jazeera English, Reuters